Shoe-button cleaner



No. 607,090. Patented July |2,|898.

l. H. SHELK.

SHOE BUTTON CLEANER.

(Application led Feb.l 21, 1898.)

(No Model.)

[NVE/WUR.' ohm/Heap Shell;

Ntra I STATES JOHN HENRY suELK, or sHELBYviLLE, INDIANA.' l

SHOE-BUTTON CLEANER.

SPEGIFIOATON forming part of Letters Patent No. 607,090, dated July 12, 1898. Application fled February 2l, 1893. Serialll'c. j671,002. (No model.)

T @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN HENRY SHELK, a citizen of the United State7 residing at Shelbyville, in the county of Shelby and- State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Button Cleaners, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my said invention is to produce a machine by which shoe-buttons aft-er they have been removed from shoes may be cleaned andtheV threads drawn from the eyes, so that they may be utilized for further service.

It consists, generally speaking, of a revolving drum or cylinder covered with a coarse fabric and inclosed in a shell the concave portion of which is also composed of a coarse fabric.

It further consists in certain details of construction and arrangements' of parts, `.as will' elevation thereof, a portion of one ofthel standards being brokenV away to show the hinge by which the two halves of the shell are connected; and Fig. 3, a view of the operative parts separate from the supportingframe and on an enlarged scale, various por`v tions being broken away to show the construe-u tion beyond. Y Y

In said drawings the portions marked A` represent the framework ofthe machine by which the operative parts are supported; B,"

the revolving drum or cylinder; C, the surrounding shell, and D a band by which the fabric of the shell may be adjusted in relation to the fabric on the drum or cylinder. The frame A consists, preferably, of a base and two uprights, which uprights contain bearings for the ends of the shaft of the re-Y volving drum or cylinder. Secured to the uprights are disks, each composedot' two 4parts A and A2, the former of which are 4of less diameter than the latter. Said disks cover the sides of the rotating drum or cylinder fabric, preferably cocoa matting.

and constitute supports for the inclosing casing of said drum. Projections a2 on the portions `A2 form the ends v of the hopper into which the buttons are iutroducedand also constitute supports to whichA the upper ends of the inclosing sides are connected when the machine is in'assembledoperative condition. The drum or cylinder B is a parallel-sided circular structure, thecircumferential surface whereof is covered with a coa-rse rough Upon one side the web of this matting is raveled loose, thus forming whip-like ends b, for the purpose which will be presently explained. This drumor cylinder is mounted on a shaft B2, which is Yadapted to be operated by a crank b2.

The inclosing casing C is preferably of the same fabric as the operativesurface of the drum. This fabric is carried upon segmental end pieces C, which are secured together at the lower side by hinges Ac', and the upper ends C2 of which extend upwardly and shut over the ends of the hopper within which the buttons to be cleaned are introduced, while the ends of thefabric-like sides C extend lup andform the sides of said hopper;V These latter are preferably simply bound at the upper end with canvas or some such material, thus reinforcing them and at the same time permitting some flexibility. L The ends 02, when the device is in `assembled condition, are secured together by any suitable means. I have shown forked pins 19, passing through said ends and entering the parts a2, as such means; v but of course hasps or any other suitable devices lnight be employed for this pur- POSG- Y 'lhe bandlD is of canvas or lsome similar comparatively non-elastic material and is secured at the ends to the sides C by metal bails D D2. These bails are bent, preferably, to the form shown most plainly in Fig. l, and under the bail D', l place movable blocks D3, which are secured Yto the sides C by suitable pins or screws c2, which pass through slots in said blocks and into said sides. Obviously by moving said block D2 toward or from the upright portionsC2 of the sides C' the band D will be tightened or loosened, and the space between the casing portion C and the peripheral surface of the drum B thus diminished or increased. Said blocks preferably have IOO several step-like surfaces upon which the bail may rest, as shown.

The operation is as follows: The quantity of buttons to be treated are placed in the hopper-like space at the upper side and the buttons rest upon the peripheral surface of the drum B. The space between said drum and its casing having been adjusted by means of the block D3 and band D, as just described, to suit the quantity of buttons being treated, the drum is rapidly revolved and the rough coarse portions of the fabric will engage with the threads in the eyes of the buttons and serve to disentangle and remove them, at the same time cleaning the buttons of any dirt which may adhere thereto. This operation is aided, especially in the case of knotted or imperfectly-cut threads, by the tail-like ends ZJ. Vhat is a tedious and slow work when performed by hand is thus performed by this inachine with great rapidity. lVhen the buttons have been cleaned, the machine is opened to the position shown in Fig. 3 and the buttons and dirt removed, when the buttons will b'e found to be perfectly clean and free from threads and ready for further use.

Having thus fully described my said invention,whatIclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, in a button-cleaning machine, of a rotary drum covered with a coarse fabric, and an inelosing casing covering the convex sides of the drum, the concave portions whereof are also composed of a coarse fabric, said casing being also provided with a hopper-like opening into 'which the buttons may be introduced.

2. The combination, in a button-cleaning machine, of a rotary drum covered with a cleaning fabric, and an inclosing casin g thereforcom posed of stationary sides and two movable parts hinged together, said casing terminatingin a hopper-like openin g into which the buttons may be introduced.

3. The combination, in a button-cleaning machine, of a rotary drum, an inclosing casing therefor surrounding the same, the surrounding portion whereof is "composed of a fabric, and a strap surrounding said flexible or fabric portion of said casing and adapted to be adjusted, whereby the space between said casing and said drum .may be regulated.

4:. The combination, in a button-cleaning machin e, with the flexible inclosing casing thereof, of a flexible but substantially nonelastic strap surrounding and resting against said casing and serving to support the same.

5. The combination, in a button-cleaning machine, of a rotary drum,a su rrounding casing therefor, the operative portion whereof is flexible and yielding, and an adjustable flexible but substantially non-elastic strap for supporting and` regulating the same, and means for adjusting said strap. j

.6. The combination, in a button-cleaning machine, ofa frame consisting of a base and supporting-standards, disks attached to said standards and forming sides between which a drum rotates, said drum, and a easing inclosing said drum and supported on said` disks, the peripheral surface of said drum and the adjacent portion of said casin g being each composed of a coarse fabric, substantially as set forth. i

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 17th day of February, A. D. 1898.

JOHN HENRY SIlELK. 

